Metal frame and rail for tile



Feb. 25, H936. C, ROEDER 2,932,226

METAL FRAME AND RAIL FOR TILE Filed MaICh 18, 1933 Sheets-SIRET, l

I-l [I' N. JV `1 UVM u 1 I r Feb 25, i936, c. ROEDER METAL FRAME AND RAIL FOR TILE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 18, 1953 INVENTOR.

WM ATTORN Feb. 25, E93@ C:F RQEDER v 2,032,226

METAL FRAME AND RAIL FOR TILE Filed March 18, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 l Il 3 l o mme.

Patented F eb. 25, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application March 18,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in apparatus for mounting tile or similar blocks to form floors, ceilings, and walls of rooms.

A main object of the invention is to provide simple and eicient apparatus which will enable home owners and amateurs to surface their rooms quickly and easily and inexpensively.

A further object is to provide apparatus which will enable the blocks to be assembled mechanically in place with respect to each other without cementing them to the wall.

A further object is to provide an apparatus which can be shipped and stored in a minimum of: space and which can be opened up or expanded into operative position with dispatch and accuracy on the part of the amateur workman.

Afurther object is to provide units of various sizes in the form of frames to support the blocks 2D: so that most of the work of forming these frames is already done before they reach the workmen andrlittle skill is required to complete the operation of placing the block supporting frames in position.

A further object is to provide a construction which will permit of the ready insertion or removal of blocks for replacement and repair without disturbing the other blocks in the wall.

Further and more specific objects, features and advantages will more clearly appear from a consideration of the specification hereinafter when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which form part of the specification and which illustrate a present preferred form of the invention.

Preferably it is my purpose to form a series or group of knock-down frames adapted to be fastened to a wall through the joists or to the lathing or to the rring and to have these frames adapted to receive and support blocks preferably in the shape of tiles, or made of ceramic material, wood, stone, metal, or cement. As outlined in my Patent No. 1,241,885 dated October 2, 1917, I have shown that the blocks with upper and 4'5 lower longitudinal grooves are supported between 1933, Serial No. 661,428

(Cl. 'Y2-19) an ordinary home-owner or amateur to do this work. Therefore, the expense of expert or skilled workmen was required which added to the cost.

I have desired to eliminate this cost and time of working previously required and have therefore conceived of the idea of preparing various sections of these block supporting frames partly assembled and so pivotally connected as to be able to be collapsed into much smaller space than heretofore for shipping or storage and yet instantly capable of being expanded into full operative position accurately so that nothing has to be done to the frames or sections after they have been thus expanded but to nail or fasten them to the wall, ceiling, or floor. To this end I have taken a series of track members of the form shown in my patent and have laid them out in predetermined parallel relation on top of a series of supporting elements in the form of channel bars also arranged preferably parallel to each other but usually disposed at right angles to the track elements. At each junction between the track elements and the supporting elements they are connected by being provided with pairs of aligned apertures or slots through which suitable fastening bolts can be passed. When the bolts are fastened tightly with the apertures aligned the various sections or frames are cooperatively disposed with the tracks supported and parallel at predetermined distances and with the supporting elements at their predetermined distances apart ready to be fastened to suitable joists, studding, lathing and the like,

In order that these sections may be folded up to much smaller volume for convenience in shipping and storage I provide that at each junction only one bolt shall remain in place in assembling the section so that each element can be swung relatively to each other so as to fold up somewhat as a lazy-tongs permitting the sections to be folded up into much smaller space for convenience in shipping and storage. When the sections reach their destination and are ready to be applied to the wall, ceiling or iioor then they are expanded to move the tracks and supporting elements into the proper operative relation with the holes in their junctions aligned whereupon the second may be placed and fastened in position thereby forming a rigid strong section which can be placed immediately in position on the wall, floor or ceiling by suitable means such as by nailing. In this manner it is only necessary to properly align one track with the horizontal or plumb line whereupon all the others are automatically aligned saving considerable labor and time.

A By having the bolts slide in slots on the supporting channel bars it is possible when the bolts are released to lift the tracks slightly whereby this displacement will permit the blocks to be moved into position betweenV the tracks by lateral movement rather than by the usual movement of sliding the blocks along the track from the end of each section. This lateral movement will permit blocks to be moved into position when the track space Yis practically all iilled up and no sliding is possible. It will also permit a block to be put into place in any gap in the block structure is illustrated in the drawings of which:-

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of'a wall to which my invention is shown as appliedl with portions of the structure broken'raway;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a section ofthe track andsupports partly folded together;

Fig. 3 is a detail showing the pivotal'connection between a track and its support;

Fig. 4 is a view showing the same elements in their operative working relation;

Fig. 5 is a. plan View of Fig. 6; Y

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing in part the wayV in which the track and its supports are mounted and the manner in which the tiles or blocks are fastened thereto;

' Fig. 7 is a vertical section taken through the Fig. 10 is a plan view of a corner construction;

Fig. 11 is'an elevation thereof;

Fig. 12 illustrates the manner in which blocks may be placed upon or removed from the tracksiV Fig. 13 is a perspective of one of the blocks; and

Fig. 14 is a perspective of the shape of one of the tracks and its support.

The preferred present form of the invention as shown in the drawings has to doV with the desirability of making provisions whereby an amateur or ordinaryworkm'an or person can be enabled readily and quickly to provide a room `with tile walls, ceiling, or oors. The tiles may be made of ordinary tile material, or wood, or cement, or even metal. The word tile being used herein in the broad sense covering any material formed in the shape preferably of a rectangular relatively thin block. Preferably the tiles 2li) areV of the rectangularshape shown in Fig. 1 3 and provided with upper and lower longitudinal amateur workmen to do the work insteadY of theV provided with holes to receive fastening elements such as bolts 28. The track flanges 25 and 26 are adapted to extend into the grooves 2l and 22 of the respective blocks.

As shown in Fig. 2 it is my intention and the purpose of this invention to provide a plurality of track elements such as indicated by the numeral 29 disposed parallel to each other and pivotally connected to supporting elements V30. These supporting elements 30 are shown in detail in Fig. 14 and are preferably U-shaped stamped or bent metal bars or plates 3l having oppositely` extending flanges 32 and 33 with suitable holes to permit the fastening of the supporting elements to any suitable base such as the joists or studs 34 or tofir stripping or lathing or any other suitable surface. As shown in Fig. 3 each track element designated by the numeral 29 is provid- Yed with two holes for the fastening bolts pass-V ing through these holes and through similar holes or slots such as 35 in the adjacent surface of the supporting plate 3|. In theoperation of my invention the tracks and their supporting elements are always connected by one bolt as shown in Fig. 3 and the tracks'are generally of specified predetermined lengths and connected at intervals to the supporting members so that by'assembling a given number of tracks and their supporting Vmembers as shown in Fig. 2 a section of track elements may be provided of given height and length for quick and efficient assembly. By having these tracks and supporting elements con-Y nected by one bolt it will ybe seen that they canY be relatively pivoted with respect to each other and folded up in a compact manner even more so than indicated in Fig. 2 so that when being stored or shipped these units thus positively pivotally connected will occupy a minimum of space thus reducing the cost of shipping and space required during storage. By having the sections thus positively connected by at least one bolt at each junction it will be seen that'when it is desired to take a section and-apply it to a wall,V

or ceiling, or oor, it is merely necessary to swing the tracks and their supporting elements into the desired position shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 6, whereupon the other bolt in each junction can be slipped into place and fastened.

The holes of the track and their associated supporting elements are so accurately placed that when'they are brought into registration, the absolute rectangular disposition of the parts 'is positively assured. Therefore, it is made pos-v sible to tentatively assemble any number of units and ship them quickly and readily and at a min-J imum expense. The tentative pivotal connection permits their being shipped and stored in a compact manner and at the same time preserve their fundamental relation so that when the parts are swung into operative position it is a simple matter to fasten them in position. After the section bolts at each joint have been placed in position or even after the section bolts in a few joints have been placed the whole unit is accurately related and can be quickly nailed or otherwise fas'- tened tothe wall, ceiling, or oor;

With one unit in place as shown in Fig. 1 it is an easy matter toy take the blocks 20 and slip Y when the Vlast tile or block of each section is to be put into place, it may be impossible to slip it on the end because of the disposition immediately adjacent said end of another block. In this instance, it may be necessary and desirable to take advantage of the slot 35 previously mentioned. It will be seen that as shown in Figs. 6, 14 and 12 that when the bolts are loosened the track can be lifted by reason of the bolts sliding in the slots 35 thus permitting the displacement of the track with respect to the adjacent tracks so that a block or tile can be slipped into place without sliding it onto the end of the tracks as is usually the case. This will permit getting blocks into position when the sections are almost all lled up and will also permit blocks to be taken out and replaced when broken.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 9 it is obvious that the distance between the tracks may be varied as desired to allow for the accommodation of different sizes of blocks such as the row of blocks indicated by the numeral St which represents a colored border near the top of the tile wall for instance of a bathroom. As shown in Fig. 9 the top blocks or cap blocks 3l generally rest on the top flange of the adjacent track element and are connected at the top to the wall or joist or plaster by any suitable manner preferably by cement 33.

In a similar manner the bottom track element is designed to be disposed a predetermined distance from the floor so as to engage at its lower flange with the bottom block or tile 39 which at its top engages with the track and at its bottom rests snugly on the floor to merge smoothly with any suitable flooring such as indicated by the numeral 40.

In Figs. 10 and 11 we see a corner block 4| connected to the respective and adjacent track elements 42 and 43 of adjacent track sections. This connection can be readily made by reason of the above mentioned ability to lift or spread the tracks to allow blocks or tile to be inserted without sliding them on the tracks. This is achieved through the intermediary of the bolts and slots 35. In this manner a smooth corner is effected. After the blocks are all in position it is possible to unite them firmly together by use of cementitious material such as indicated by the numeral 44 in Figs. 6 and 7.

It will, therefore, be seen that the herein invention in the rst instance comprises the provision of tile tracks and supporting units of various standard sizes and shapes which can be pivotally connected and folded and stored away in a compact reduced volume. These units thus folded are provided with slots or holes which can be aligned and which are so related that when aligned with bolts disposed in these apertures the tracks and supports are in absolute proper alignment. Provision is made for readily nailing the supporting members to any suitable base structure. Provision is also made whereby separate blocks may be readily placed in position by spreading the tracks rather than by sliding the blocks on the tracks. By having these complete units of predetermined dimensions already substantially completely prepared in advance of application to the wall, a vast amount of time is saved, and amateur or ordinary workmen, or even home-owners, may be capable of tiling or finishing the walls, floors, or ceilings of their rooms by themselves, thus eliminating the cost of expert workmen.

It is to be understood that the foregoing invention is a distinct improvement of my Patent No. 1,241,885, dated October 2, 1917, and to be used in conjunction with said Patent No. 1,241,- 885. I wish it understood that I do not limit myself to the manufacture of this tile of an earthen composition alone, but claim that tile of wood, metal, or cement, can be used as well.

While the invention has been described in detail and with respect to a present preferred form thereof it is not to be limited to such details and forms since many changes and modifications may be made in the invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention in its broadest aspects. Hence it is desired to cover any and all forms and modifications of the invention which may come within the language or scope of any one or more of the appended claims.

What is claimed, is:

1. A building construction which comprises a plurality of vertically disposed channel-bar supports each having pairs of spaced slots therein at a plurality of levels, a plurality of horizontally disposed flanged tile-supporting track elements, said horizontal tracks having pairs of bolts disposed thereon where the track elements cross the vertical supports, said bolts extending into said slots and permitting fastening of the tracks t0 the supports and vertical adjustment thereon and with respect to each other.

2. A building construction which comprises a plurality of vertically disposed channel-bar supports each having pairs of spaced slots therein at a plurality of levels, a plurality of horizontally disposed flanged tile-supporting track elements, said horizontal tracks having, prior to nal adjustment of the construction, a bolt disposed thereon where the track elements cross the vertical supports, said bolts extending into one of said pairs of slots and permitting fastening of the tracks to the supports, said bolts when partly loosened permitting the pivotal movement of the series of tracks with respect to the supports whereby the frame formed by the supports and the track elements may be partly collapsed or folded together to take up less room in shipment or storage.

3. A building construction which comprises a plurality of vertically disposed channel-bar supports each having pairs of spaced slots therein at a plurality of levels, a plurality of horizontally disposed hanged tile-supporting track elements, said horizontal tracks having, prior to nal adjustment of the construction, a bolt disposed thereon where the track elements cross the vertical supports, said bolts extending into one of said pairs of slots and permitting fastening of the tracks to the supports, said bolts when partly loosened permitting the pivotal movement of the series of tracks with respect to the supports whereby the frame formed by the supports and the track elements may be partly collapsed or folded together to take up less room in shipment or storage, and a second bolt adapted to be inserted into the other of each pair of slots and fastened therein when the frame is up and disposed in nal position.

CHARLES ROEDER. 

